chapter iii.
( avengers )

daddy's         kid's
gonna make it big
take        a      seat
enjoy  the   show
count me out ─── pusherjones

stark industries, malibu, california
may 1, 2012
( lisa's point of view )

"Hurry now, Mr. Charles," the tall, dark-skinned man said from the doorway, "Your father has sent a plane that will be landing shortly to take you home."

T nodded slowly before resuming his packing in silence.

"Are you sure you have to go?" I fought tears as my eleven year old self sat on his bed in his large bedroom.

"Unfortunately, I am certain," he gave a irritated sigh, "My father says I need to return to learning my duties."

"But," I struggled to hold in a remorseful sigh and I fought the sound of slight desperation from entering my voice, "there isn't anything we can say or do to convince him to let you stay?"

"I am lucky enough to have come at all. You know I am the first citizen to have had an education outside of my country," his wonderful and thick accent told me as he still kept his back to me and finished packing his things, "I must be grateful for this time that I have had. It is a gift."

"Yeah. I guess so," the toe of my Converse poked at the carpet underneath my feet, "Do you think you'll come back?"

"To America, no. Perhaps to Europe where I may eventually continue my studies. We shall see."

"Oh."

There was a heavy silence as I stared at the ground and he zipped up his bag.

"Lisa," he crouched down in front of me and I quickly rubbed away my tears so he couldn't see them, "It is time to say goodbye."

My bottom lip trembled and I pitifully sniffed, "I don't want you to go, T."

He gave me a sad smile, "I shall see you again. I swear to you that."

It felt like our eight years of friendship somehow was coming to an end and it ached me deep in my chest. I had never had many friends my age, even when I was still in school. I only had Dad, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and Obie, and then I had T. We had met on one of the weapons conventions that I went to with Dad and my life had been made better by it. But now that chapter of my life was coming to a close and I was not ready for it.

I nodded quickly, but my lip still quivered as I took in a shaky breath.

"Hush now," he pulled me into a hug and I rested my cheek on his fourteen year old shoulder, "It will be okay, my dear friend."

I hugged him tighter before I whispered, "You won't forget me though?"

I felt him smile as he responded in confidence, "Never."

"Miss Stark, are you listening?"

As the memory fades away, I blink up from my hands to the man sitting at the long table beside me, "Nope. I stopped listening about ten minutes ago actually."

"Miss Stark," the man smiles mockingly at the others before he takes on an infuriatingly condescending tone, "Sweetie, you do understand that this is going to be your company in a few years, don't you?"

My eyes narrow, but I make sure my teeth reveal themselves in a tight and 'sweet' smile, "I understand that perfectly, thank you. Stark Industries, my father's legacy, and billions of dollars will all one day rest firmly upon my thin, bony shoulders. Soon I will be in charge of it all," I motion out my hands before clasping them together on top of the table, "Now, the really big question here is: you do remember that I will one day be your boss, don't you...Sweetie?"

The once cocky man swallows a little harder than before.

I then clap my hands together before resting them palm-down onto the wooden table. I push the big, leather chair back and straighten my legs out underneath me. My shoulders roll back as my eyes level with each stiff-suited man and woman sitting throughout the boardroom.

"I understand that each and every one of you business brainiacs do not expect much from me. You believe that I am too young and dumb to be able to control this company. You believe that I am, after all, a billionaire's spoiled daughter who is in way over her head, yes?" a small smirk twitches at the corner of my lips, "Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, maybe you should start to believe this. I intend to run this company exactly and explicitly how I think and know it should run. Therefore, whether it is during this practice period or it is when I actually am CEO, when I say 'no' to selling our tech to a questionable organization, then the answer is firmly and undoubtedly 'no'. You will not come back to me and ask it a second time, and you most certainly will not go ask it of Miss. Potts or my father as I have become aware that many of you have tried," many pairs of eyes fall to their laps, "Is that clear to you all?"

I leave the board meeting when I see each head slowly nod in concession. My black boots clunk along the tiles as I walk tall along the fancy hallways to what used to be Dad's and is now Pepper's office. I smile at Bambi, Pepper's PA, before softly knocking on the big wooden door and just walking in. Pepper Potts, our company's interim CEO as well as my surrogate mother as well as my father's girlfriend, is sitting at her desk on the phone. She smiles and waves to me as I continue in. She gives an apologetic expression before holding up a finger for me to wait. I nod in understanding as I plop down in a chair, pulling up and criss-crossing my legs.

When she finally gets off the phone, she heaves a sigh of relief, "Lisa! I am so glad to see you!"

I laugh lightly, "I'm so glad to see you too! Did you expect to find me curled up in the fetal position, hiding in some closet somewhere?"

"Oh, no, of course not," she gives me a sympathetic smile, "so, how did it go, Sweetheart?"

I sigh and rub my face with my hands, feeling the cool metal of my thrusters on my skin, "Well, they tried to talk me into it again."

"Oh no, they didn't!" Pepper gasps irritatedly, "God, should I go over there and talk to them?!"

She's already standing up, ditching her role as CEO for a much scarier Mama Bear one.

"Whoa, whoa," I hold up my hands with another laugh, "I took care of it pretty thoroughly. I went full 'Stark' on them, I promise."

With a still irritated huff, she sits down and leans back in her chair, "Good. I'm glad. I wish I was there to see their faces though."

"Oh," I give her a small smirk and nod, "they were definitely uncomfortable about being scolded by a sixteen year old."

"Well, they deserve to be that and more," she clicks her tongue as she sways her chair a bit, "Really, how aggravating."

I shake my head and wave my hands quickly, "I just want to forget about all of it this weekend. I'm dying to get over there! Has Dad already left?"

"Yes. He didn't even use the jet. He insisted he just fly in the suit all the way there."

I laugh as my eyes roll, "Oh no! Really? Oh my, God, I love him."

"Me too," she smiles down at her desk before looking back to me, "Now are you ready to get out of here?"

I blush and smile at her casual admission of her love for him. I completely adore them being together, but I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it. I just think that all my life I've seen them being a couple as only a dream and now that it's a reality, it's a little unbelievable and, um, just a bit awkward.

"Am I ever!" I exclaim as I stand and link my arm with hers.

I'm so excited to be finally getting out of Malibu and routine for a few days. About three weeks ago, Dad insisted that I start moving around the company a little more. He wanted me to get a feel for it and so I started a 'practice period'. I think everyone is hating it as much as I am. Everyone keeps trying to pull fast ones on me just because I'm a kid and the businessmen seem to be even sneakier. It's as if the men think that I'm not going to do well because I'm a girl, nearly a full grown woman. It's insane!

"Never make it easy for them. Never make it easy for them to kill you, to hurt you, to trick you. You are a woman, not a damsel. Shut up and suit up."

The wise words of my beloved Aunt Peggy.

Feeling a little more encouraged, I find myself smiling as we leave Stark Industries before I come to a sudden halt. Pepper jolts to a stop, tugged back by my arm and not having realized that my feet weren't moving anymore.

She turns and gives me a confused expression, "Lisa, are you okay?"

"Yeah, uh," I'm still smiling when I say, "I'm sorry, do you mind if we make a quick stop in D.C.?"

She gives me a funny look, "D.C.?"

"Yeah, there's someone there I want to see."

Her eyes flicker with understanding and she quickly nods with a small smile of her own.

Next thing I know, I'm slowly walking towards the retirement home's front doors. Pepper and Happy wait in the car as I pass through the glassy doorway. I smile at the familiar secretary as she checks me in and then nods me forward, promising me that it's a good day to visit. Trying to clean myself up, I push my brown hair behind my ears and straighten my overalls when I reach the door marked 'Carter'. My knuckles softly rap on the wood and I tilt back on my heels as I wait for a response.

"Oh, don't you bother knocking," a feminine British voice calls back, a little raspier than normal, but it's warm and safe all the same.

With a grin, my hand twists the door handle and I slide in through the space that I create. The woman before me smiles a nice, worn smile when she sees my face. Aunt Peggy. Her gray-white hair curls around her wrinkled face and hangs on top of her shoulders. Her brown eyes study me as if making sure that I'm as healthy as I was when Dad and I visited her a month ago.

"Don't worry, I'm still in one piece," I tease lightly as I pad over to her bedside.

"Well, with you and your father, I never can know!" Her witty voice replies as she raises one eyebrow.

I laugh a little and nod in agreement.

The two of us do seem to get into a lot of sticky situations.

She lifts an arm and waves her fingers towards me, beckoning me. As I move closer, her thin arm suspends in the air and waits for me to get into the position I used to when I was a little girl. As if on instinct, I sit on the side of her mattress, swing my legs over the sheets, lean back on her arm, and settle into her side. She pushes her curls out of her face so that she can look down at me without anything blocking her vision.

"How's my fighter?"

I smile at her familiar nickname.

She's called me that ever since I first met her at Howard and Grandma's funeral.

I was cold and so was the sky. As the pastor continued to give his sermon, my three year old eyes drifted up past the black umbrellas and at the gray clouds. It was like the sky knew that we were sad. It was like it was sad too. A few drops of rain met my face and I held back my tears. My father and I stood only five feet from the coffins that were about to be lowered into the earth. Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, and Jarvis all stood behind us, but it was like they weren't even there. Dad had his arms hanging on either side of him and his eyes were glaring in the direction of his dead parents. I wasn't quite sure why he was so angry or who he was angry at.

We hadn't spoken since before the accident when Howard, Grandma, and I left the house. When the police found me the next morning, I was wandering down that old country road with blood all over me and a look of disorientation on my face. When the EMTs took me to the nearest hospital, I was still terrified out of my mind and all I wanted was my daddy. When Dad ran into the hospital room that the nurses gave me, he just suddenly stopped. He stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped speaking, stopped everything. I remember I had reached my arms out to him as the hiccups escaped my chest and the tears streamed down my hot cheeks. But he just stood there.

And he was still just standing there.

I was scared and I was alone.

Howard was dead.

Grandma was dead.

I could still hear her singing, "Try to remember the kind of September when grass was green and gray was yellow. Try to remember the kind of September when you were a tender and callow fellow. Try to remember and if you remember, then follow."

But I didn't remember.

I didn't remember what happened really before or after we hit the tree.

So, if I couldn't remember, how could I follow?

My hand slowly inched towards my dad's. As soon as my fingers touched his, he sharply pulled his hand away. Tears filled my eyes as I watched him tightly clasp his two hands together in front of him without ever glancing my way. My face felt hot and there was a lump in my throat. I rubbed my nose and kept my head down, fighting the tears that were still there. The preacher went on until the coffins slowly lowered six feet under the dirt. My lip trembled as my eyes left the dirt that was being pushed over my grandparents' bodies.

Standing on the other side of the disappearing coffins was a seventy year old Margaret 'Peggy' Carter. She was wearing a black blouse and skirt. Many people were looking at the coffins or at the ground, but Peggy Carter was looking right at me. Not knowing who she was, I stepped closer to Dad even if he didn't want to hide me right then. When the service ended, my father turned and abruptly walked away. I watched as he rested a hand against a nearby tree and pulled a dark colored bottle out of his suit coat. He put the bottle to his lips and raised the bottom completely into the air, chugging down the contents. I stared at him, completely alone amidst the quietly talking adults and faintly falling rain.

"Hello," a British voice said kindly.

I jerked back away from the unfamiliar voice and I stared up at the older woman with wide, terrified eyes.

"My name is Margaret. You may call me Peggy, if you want. I am a friend of your grandfather's," she gave me a small smile and crouched down in front of me, easily balancing in her heels even as they squished into the grass, "It's nice to finally meet you, Lisa."

I shook my head, feeling the tears coming again, "No, 'was'," I rubbed my runny nose as I continued to correct her, "'Was his friend'."

"He's still my friend though. No relationship or love can be stopped by death," she smiled as if she personally knew that were true.

I rubbed my nose again, looking back to Dad who was pulling the now empty bottle from his lips and leaning further against the tree. His chest was heaving sharply as if he was struggling to keep his emotions in check, trying to not break into sobs. His head tilted back as he dazedly stared up at leaves covering the color-drained sky.

Peggy gazed after him as well with sorrowful eyes, "He'll come back to you, Lisa. He will. With time."

"Really?" my face turned hopeful as I stared up at her with my wide, blue orbs.

She nodded as she smoothed my hair that Pepper had curled that morning, "Truly. Just, right now he's in pain and he's scared."

"I know," I whispered, sliding my shoe across the damp, mist-covered grass, "I'm scared too."

"You're going to be just fine, Lisa," Peggy assured me with quiet concern as she took my little hand in hers.

A little surprised that I didn't flinch when she touched me, my voice dropped to a whisper as I nodded, "I know."

She took my other hand and gave them both a squeeze, "That's my fighter."

"I'm good, Aunt Peg,"

"No, you're well," she corrects my grammar with a very haughty expression.

I heave a sigh, jokingly pursing my lips and shaking my head.

"You'd think that someone who had graduated from college so early would use proper grammar," she teases.

"You'd think." I grin up at her before growing more serious, "How have you been?"

Her eyes turn sad, but she answers lightly, "Very well."

I push myself up so that I can look at her straight on, "Aunt Peg, the doctors told Dad. He's irritated that you didn't just tell us yourself."

Her face grows serious and her jaw tightens, "Lisa, it's nothing."

"Don't say it's nothing." I argue with much more hurt than anger in my tone.

"Darling, we all knew it was Alzheimer's much before any doctor confirmed it," she touches the bottom of my chin, "It'll be alright. I'll be alright."

I want to argue, but I know it won't do any good. So, instead, I settle for giving a disgruntled sigh and leaning back into her.

She quietly adds after a few moments of silence, "I always am."

A few hours later, I decide that I actually do need to get to New York eventually so I say my reluctant goodbyes and make my way out of the retirement home. I see Pepper and Happy waiting in the car for me so I give a small smile and a wave when all the sudden black SUVs are pulling out out of the woodwork and surrounding us at all sides. Their tires screech to a stop as they circle around me and our car. Before I can even process what is happening, a horde of men in black suits and dark sunglasses jump out of their cars and are running.

Which I think is, like, weird, but okay, I'm not one to judge.

Until I stupidly realize they're coming straight for me. Well shoot.

"Wait, wait, wait," I panickedly lift my hands, "Gentlemen, let's talk about this-!"

"Miss Stark, Director Fury requests your presence," a silver badge is flashed in my eyes before suddenly I'm being grabbed and my feet are barely touching the ground as they yank me towards a blacked-out car.

Happy and Pepper both throw themselves out of our car, but the other men hold them back.

"Lisa!" Pepper screams as they roughly hoist me up through the back door.

"I'll be okay, just-!" I'm cut off as the men hop in after me and just before the door slams closed, I shriek out, "Just call Dad!"

One black booted foot stretches out of the helicopter and steps down against the concrete below. The wind whips my brown hair around my face and I easily shake it back, tossing the locks over my shoulders. The air is hot and sticky as I look around at the desert surrounding me. The sky is no longer the hazy blue it was when I was, uh, escorted out of D.C. a little over six hours ago and now I am covered in a pitch black New Mexico sky with only a few stars littering the space.

People, soldiers, and agents alike, are scurrying all around and Humvees panickedly drive from the facility the helicopter has landed by. My brows dip down slightly as I try to understand just what the heck's going on.

I choose to ignore the agent behind me as they again reassure that I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I should not be afraid for my life and that I am "safe" and I am "secure". Those are never comforting words. I've seen the movies.

At the edge of the landing pad, there stands two very darkly dressed men. Agent Phil Coulson is wearing a pair of an especially dark pair of sunglasses and he holds a stoic expression instead of the usual small smile I see him sporting.

That's never a good sign.

Director Nick Fury stands by his side where his iconic long leather jacket and his even more iconic black eyepatch. Still, the look on their faces make me feel uneasy and my lips part slightly as I stare at them and they stare at me. I feel my hands twitch so I clench them into fists and roll my shoulders back. Whatever is going on is definitely not gonna be good.

"You rang?" I try to keep my voice cocky and casual but it shakes as I step closer.

"Miss Stark." Fury acknowledges sternly.

I clear my throat and glance around at the still buzzing facility. The world around us is bright with flashing yellow lights and my ears are ringing from the sirens and alarms going off.

"Director Fury." I struggle to resist the urge to use his nickname (not the time), "What's going on?"

"We need your help, Miss Stark," he informs me with a narrowed eye.

"Really?" I sass, "Well, because you asked so nicely, of course!"

"If you'll follow us, Lisa," Phil gives me a small but slightly amused smirk as he turns towards the large concrete building.

I hardly have time to nod before they're already leading me away from the landing pad. Something curls up in my stomach and my chest tightens as we walk towards the towering building. Terrified people roughly bump into my shoulders as they try to escape and soldiers with guns in their hands don't meet my eyes. We move further and deeper into the secret SHIELD facility and a bright blue light shines down in the hall in front of us.

"Fury, what's going on?" I question again, jogging to keep up.

He doesn't answer, but I can't find it within me to show any attitude in response to his lack of one. I'm much too concerned and confused for that. Fury's jaw just sets and he stares straight ahead as we walk into the dark room ahead of us. Numerous large SHIELD. and NASA emblems hang from the ceiling as a mix of metal and concrete walls surround us at all sides. What does SHIELD have to do with outer space?

"Director, I-," my words immediately die in my throat when I see the source of the bright blue light.

The room is illuminated by it as the strange glowing blue is withstanded within a rounded metal machine. I feel my jaw fall slack at the sight of it. It's majestic and terrifying all at the same time.

"Oh God," I whisper quietly as my boots move slowly closer.

It's unlike anything I've ever seen.

"It's called the Tesseract, Miss Stark." Fury tells me, clasping his hands behind his back, "We've had it in our custody for a good long while now. Your grandfather was the one who found it."

My eyes snap to him in surprise.

"The Tesseract." I eventually repeat, nearly in wonder as I watch it twist and swirl with energy, "Wh-what is it doing?"

"Misbehaving," a tall man wearing a tucked-in plaid shirt to my left informs me.

Fury doesn't seem overly thrilled with the tall man's answer and it seems as if this isn't the first time he's heard it, but he still doesn't say anything. For some strange reason, I struggle to pull my gaze from the object to look over at him.

"Miss Lisa Stark." Phil is friendly enough to introduce us, "meet Doctor-,"

"Erik Selvig. I know." I nod as I walk towards him and stretch out a hand, "It's nice to meet you, Doctor."

"You as well." He gives me a polite smile before turning back to his computer and nodding to the so-called 'Tesserpact' or whatever, "It's an energy source of sorts."

My eyes briefly follow Phil as he gives me a goodbye nod and leaves the lab.

"Cool." I awkwardly shrug, slowly stepping towards the glowing blue cube, "So, why exactly did you call me?"

"I've had you brought here because of your most recent studies, Miss Stark. I'm told you've become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics."

I give a quiet laugh as I carefully walk around the metal machine, "'Expert' is apparently a very broad term, Director Fury. I lost a bet to Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes and he decided to get really, really mean with the punishment."

Dang you, Rhodey.

"Doctor Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract a little over four hours ago," Fury informs me as the cube shoots out flares of blue.

"Energy, you say? So, the source? Where is it harnessing energy from?" My eyes squint as I lean closer towards it.

"Space." Doctor Selvig answers so simply that it seems almost like a normal answer for a moment.

And then I realize that it's not.

Space?! Like outer space? As in stars and planets and the vacuum of horror?

That's why flippin' NASA is here, oh Lord.

I whirl around to stare at them with wide eyes, "What?!"

None of them even attempt to answer me before Fury touches a hand to the comm in his ear, "Agent Barton, report."

A man suddenly lowers from the ceiling on a rope and then he lands on his black boots with astounding grace. My eyes are still dancing between all of them, searching for an answer as the man, Agent Barton, walks towards Fury.

"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury seems to nearly scold him.

"Well, I see better from a distance," the agent responds with ease before he nods in my direction and puts out his hand, "Miss Stark, Agent Barton."

I numbly shake his hand as my head still feels dizzy, "Sup."

"Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?" Fury ignores my daze to continue questioning his agent.

"Doctor, it's spiking again!" A female scientist suddenly yells over to Selvig.

My eyes confusedly study the glowing object as it continues to burst with energy.

"No one's come or gone, besides Miss Stark. Selvig is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s." Agent Barton lets out a thoughtful sigh, "If there was any tampering, Sir, it wasn't at this end."

Fury and I respond simultaneously, "At this end?"

I add with more panic that Fury has, "A portal? You mean that crap's real?!"

Agent Barton scoffs a near laugh, "Unfortunately. And the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides."

My hands are beginning to shake now and then we all hear this strange crackling and whirring. Our eyes slowly lift to watch the Tesseract begins to spin and twirl like fire. Fury stares at it with near anger while Agent Barton's eyes are wide with caution.

And suddenly the Tesseract explodes.

The ground beneath my feet trembles like it's an earthquake and my knees buckle a little. A long stream of light shoots out of the metal machine and then a very large hole begins to tear through the space in front of us. Lights flicker above our heads. It trembles with black and blue colors and I think I can nearly sees what must be stars on the other side of it. A lump rises in my throat and my breath shakes as I gasp in. Agent Barton is suddenly grabbing onto me and pulling me behind him when an entire tidal wave of blue energy bursts from the hole and envelopes us all in its flood. My hands worriedly stretch out and I instinctively grab onto Agent Barton's forearm as I try to find some balance.

The blue energy twists up and forms a cloud above where the hole used to be. And where the hole used to be stands a single dark creature. My jaw is slack as smoke billows off of his crouching form and agents slowly move towards him, guns raised. The creature, the man, he's breathing heavily as strange armor hangs off his body and a long gold weapon is being clenched within his pale white hand. 

His dark head slowly raises and a sickening smirk peels onto his cheeks. The smirk slowly fades and his eyes twitch ever so slightly. He straightens as he watches us and we watch him.

There's an unsettling moment of silence.

His bright blue eyes peer into mine and I quickly look away, suddenly feeling very scared.

"Sir!" Fury calls over to him, his voice echoing off the walls around us, "Please put down the spear!"

The man glances down at the spear in his hand almost contemplating something.

And then he suddenly raises the spear and jolts it back as a bright blue blast shoots towards the three of us. Agent Barton grabs onto Fury and me, throwing us out of the line of fire. My shoulders painfully crash into the concrete as gunfire sounds from all around me.

The man leaps a terrifying distance and stabs an agent directly in the heart before throwing knives into the necks of two others. I raise my thrusters, but Fury grabs me tightly around the waist and tosses me over a desk before I can get the chance to shoot.

Landing hard back on the ground, I'm frozen as I watch him shoot another blast towards the blonde scientist at the desk. Blood spurts off of her and I shriek, covering my head as he kills three more before kicking another into the concrete wall, snapping his spine. As I slowly raise my head, I see the entire room is completely decimated as bodies lie strewn all over the place and electricity flies through the air. Suddenly the man stalks over to Agent Barton who is just lifting his gun to shoot and grabs his arm. Agent Barton pulls back with a pained expression on his face.

The man breathes out with a small nod, "You have heart."

My eyes widen as he points the spear into the agent's chest. I watch as blue energy flows out of the spear and then Agent Barton's eyes flood to black and then to a horrible bright blue. I catch my breath as my stomach fills with dread. Fury grabs onto my arm and he pulls me along behind him, our feet moving soundlessly towards the machine. With his special gloves, Fury reaches into the machine and winces as the pulls the cube out of the metal holding. He gently sets it within a silver case and then clicks it closed. We both stand and then move towards the exit as I glance to see the man pressing the spear into other agents' chests.

"Please don't." The man softly says to our backs, "I still need that."

My shoulders shudder as we both turn to face the man with shoulder-length black hair and a scarred face.

"This doesn't have to get any messier." Fury glares at him.

"Of course it does..." The man breathes deeply, "I've come too far for anything else."

"Right, so," I muster some courage to yell back, "who are you?"

His pale blue eyes grow distant as he so eloquently speaks, "I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

He should put that on a greeting card; it's that catchy.

"I am Lisa... of Malibu?"

Fury rolls his eye at me irritatedly.

The dude - Loki's - freaky eyes flash with something that looks almost like... recognition?

"Loki?" Selvig stands up from beside the blonde scientist's unmoving body, "Brother of Thor?"

The man, Loki, looks over at him with infuriated disgust.

"We have no quarrel with your people." Fury holds his hand out as if hoping this will calm him.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot." Loki speaks mockingly with raising eyebrows and wonder-filled expression.

"An ant?" I repeat as my eyes narrowed, "Are you planning to step on us then?"

Agent Barton looks around at us with his infected eyes.

"I come with glad tidings," Loki slowly paces before suddenly turning sharply to look at us, "of a world made free."

"Free from what?" Fury spits out.

"Freedom!" I scoff quietly, "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart," he quickly spins around and places the tip of the scepter against Selvig's chest.

"No!" I shout, quickly stepping towards them before Fury grabs my arm.

"You will know peace." Loki finishes with a whisper.

"Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing."

Both Agent Barton and I look up behind us as the blue cloud above our heads suddenly bubbles up harder.

"Sir." Agent Barton's speaks in a soldier-like voice as he marches towards Loki, "Director Fury and the kid are stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us," he glances up at the cloud, "He means to bury us."

"Like the Pharaohs of Old," Fury gives an unamused smirk.

"He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical."

Two minutes.

Two minutes.

We have two minutes.

"Well, then," Loki says quickly before turning to Agent Barton who doesn't even hesitate to raise his gun and shoot directly at Fury.

The director lets out a pained cry as he flies back to the ground, taking a bullet to the chest.

"Fury!" I yell, quickly raising my hands towards the three men.

I get only two shots off as Loki smoothly slides towards me and dodges both blasts. He is suddenly before me and taking my throat in his hand. I take in a sharp breath as panic fills my eyes and thoughts. He raises his spread and then presses the tip into my chest. I feel my eyes burn as he smirks into my face.

I have one last thought: two minutes.

Then I see nothingness.

Cliffhanger!

Well, what did you think?! Did you like the first chapter of the Avengers? Oh man there was so much packed in there. I hope it wasn't too much for you guys! Tell me your thoughts! We even had some Peggy int here so yay! Pepper was there, but no Tony yet. Soon, my friends, soon.

Then there is the whole matter of the two flashback sequences. Well, now you've somewhat met Lisa's love-interest. What do you think so far? Can you guess if he's an OC or a character in the MCU? Tell me your thoughts! What did you think of the flashback between Peggy, Tony, and Lisa? It's so sad, but I really like how it turned out.

And Looooookiiiii! Ahhhh! So much more to come for those two!

Anyway, give me your thoughts and guesses! Join me next time, my pretties!

Funny Thingamabob just for you:

Alright. Not even sure how to respond to that.